With cashews, dates, honey, and zesty lemon flavor, these No-Bake Paleo Lemon Bars are filling enough to satisfy an appetite!
In my opinion, desserts come in three flavor categories: chocolate, sweet fruit, and citrus. When faced with a choice between the three, I’ll always choose one from each plate; they are all equals in my eyes. But my husband? He’ll skip right over the chocolate and make a beeline to the citrus every single time.
Lately, we’ve been making an effort to eat more raw and whole foods, skipping stuff like butter, flour, and refined sugar. For a while, we were doing fine without dessert, which is huge for us! But after a few weeks, we inevitably started raiding the baking cabinet, looking for sweet stuff that wouldn’t break the dietary rules we had set for ourselves. Just a little treat to satiate the sweet tooth a few hours after dinner, you know? The pull toward sugar is strong, folks, but we resisted… sort of.
Enter these no-bake Paleo lemon bars. They’re sweet enough to hit the bullseye of a sugar craving thanks to the honey and dates, the citrus flavor is lovely for dessert, and these bars have the most satisfying crust made of cashews and dates! Plus, they don’t require an oven, so they won’t heat up your kitchen, making them an excellent summertime dessert. These lemon bars are so good, they’ll make you wonder what else you can do with cashews and dates!
Are These No-Bake Paleo Lemon Bars Healthy?
These are pretty healthy for a dessert! These lemon bars have a small dose of protein per serving thanks to the cashews, and the dates lend some B vitamins, folate, and vitamin K. They are quite rich because of the cashew content, but they have far less sugar than most rich desserts and zero butter! The fat content in this recipe mostly comes from the cashews, so the majority is healthier unsaturated fat.
This recipe is suitable for vegetarians, gluten-free and dairy-free eaters, and those following a Paleo diet. There’s no refined sugar in this recipe. To make vegan lemon bars, use agave nectar instead of honey.
Working With Raw Cashews
If you’ve never played around with raw cashews before, here’s a short primer. First of all, let’s get this out of the way: most of the cashews we reach for as a snack are not raw cashews. Unless you’ve specifically gone out to buy them, you probably don’t have them in your snack drawer!
You can find raw cashews at most grocery stores. They may be stocked with the rest of the snacking nuts, or they might be stashed separately in the baking aisle. If you can’t find raw cashews at your local grocery store, you’ll probably have more luck checking a health food store or grocery stores that tend to have more options, like Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, or Sprouts.
One reason we use raw cashews in this recipe is because they blend up into a creamy texture far better than roasted cashews, especially after they soak in water for a while. The recipe calls for an overnight soak for the cashews that make up the creamy lemon layer, but you’ll notice the cashews in the crust are not soaked. That’s on purpose! You want the crust to be more of a dense crumble with tiny pieces of tender cashew held together by date paste.
How Do I Store Leftovers?
Keep your lemon bars frozen in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. I like to freeze them 2 at a time so I can pull out dessert for my husband and me. Simply let them sit at room temperature for 10 minutes or so when you’re ready to eat them!
Serving Suggestions
Serve these lemon bars after a healthy dinner of grilled chicken, such as this Vietnamese Grilled Chicken, or a serving of Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie. I sometimes dress my lemon bars with Strawberry Whipped Cream or Salted Caramel Sauce, but more often than not, a dusting of sugar-free powdered sweetener is just fine!
Ingredients
For The Crust:
- ⅔ cup raw cashews (93 grams)
- ½ cup dates roughly chopped and loosely packed (70 grams)
- ½ teaspoon water
For The Bars:
- 2 cups raw cashews soaked in water overnight (270 grams)
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- 5 tablespoons raw unfiltered honey
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest packed
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
To Make The Crust:
- Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper, leaving a few inches extra around the pan to use as a handle.
- Place the cashews into a large food processor, and pulse until broken down and crumbled. Add in the dates, then pulse until combined and the mixture begins to form a crumbly dough. With the food processor running, stream in the water until well mixed.
- Press the crust firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Press it until it's very thin at the bottom. Place into the freezer while you make the cream.
To Make The Cream:
- Drain the cashews and transfer to a high-powered blender. Add all the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.
- Remove the crust from the freezer. Pour the cream mixture over the crust and smooth out evenly. Freeze until totally firm, about 4-6 hours.
- Let the bars stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
Nutrition Info:
Nutrition information are estimates only and may vary based on the specific brands, ingredients, and portion sizes you use. This data is provided for informational purposes only.
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